Hi – my name is Nate and I am a snowboarding addict!

When I started this website (2014) I had been snowboarding around 6 years – a relative late comer to the sport – I was 26 at the time.

Why so late?

Simple. I knew I’d love it.

Hang on….. then wouldn’t you have started earlier? For normal people I would say yes – but I never claimed to be normal! Looking back, I was rather pragmatic about it.

I knew two things about snowboarding:

1. That it was just the kind of thing that I would instantly become addicted to and

2. That I had no money! I was a student and bad with money. I could barely get to the end of the week with enough food – or beer, of course, left in the cupboard!

So I knew that the cost of snowboarding (gear, lift passes, accommodation etc) would require either:

a. learning to be better with money

b. cutting out beer drinking or

c. earning more money.

I wasn’t ready to give up beer! And I had to finish studying before I could make more money – and I was just too damn lazy to learn to be better with money. So I waited until c. happened.

And once I tried it – what do ya know – addicted! But now I had the money (just) to fund this addiction….and still afford beer!

I had been skiing as a kid a few times on family and school outings but was never given the option to snowboard. I watched the snowboarders with jealousy and cursed these double sticks attached to my feet! (o.k. so that’s and exaggeration I did enjoy skiing once I got going but still always knew somehow that I would prefer snowboarding).

So this website had been created so that I can write about the thing I love. If I’m going to be thinking about it all the time then I might as well write about it.

Gear Gear Gear

Something I fell in love with as quickly as I fell in love with the actual doing of snowboarding, was snowboard gear!

I don’t know what it is about snowboard gear that gets me so excited but buying that new pair of boots or that new board or even something as simple as snowboarding pants or gloves. Researching snowboards and all the other gear and tech stuff about snowboarding gets my blood pumping.

It can also be frustrating though. I remember buying my first board and boots and bindings and jacket and everything else – and the amount of information I had to learn and research to pick the right gear for me (I have always been super fussy about this but I think it makes a huge difference when you get the set up right).

It took an age and was at times exciting but was also at times extremely frustrating.

That started my journey (and, if I’m being honest, obsession) with learning the best ways to pick snowboarding gear that is personalized to the individual. I noticed early on, when trying different, gear, the huge difference that it can make between one snowboard to the next and the difference that different sizes made.

That brings me to the main reason I created this website 6 years later, and that is to help fellow riders (whether just starting out, advancing or just looking to change gear or expand into different styles) make informed decisions but also to help make those decisions much easier and much faster.

Stunning Scenery, Mountains & Snowboarding

Another thing I love about snowboarding is being in the mountains. Not only do you get to do this great sport but you get to do it in some of the most beautiful scenery around. In my opinion there is nothing more beautiful in nature than a snow covered mountain.

I have always felt confident and at home in the mountains. This was perhaps instilled as a youngster doing treks in the mountains growing up in New Zealand (I’m now based in Canada – so even more mountains to call home!). The mountains, in a strange way, feel like home to me.

I’d be lost and clueless in the desert and whilst I enjoy hanging out on the beach and in the water it’s not quite that same feeling I get as being in the mountains.

And then when you add to that a mountain full of people who also love that environment and also love that sport. I just find resorts have an amazing atmosphere. It’s people getting together doing something they love in the most beautiful scenery! There’s nothing I get more excited for than the next snowboarding holiday.

So that’s a bit about me and the existence of this website.

Thanks heaps for visiting and if you have any feedback, suggestions or any comments at all or just want to say hi, I’d really appreciate and value that. Just leave a comment in one of the posts or through the contact page.

Enjoy the riding ahead,

Nate Allan